Paint mixer



Jan. 10, 1928. 1,655,447

1.. c. WAIT PAINT MIXER Filed March 14, 1927 7 s I14 fla /1%)! I llilll rgg-i 1 IlIIIlIlIIIIIIII/ltn" 7? f5 00i WM Patented Jan. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES LORENZO C. WAIT, OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.

PAINT MIXER.

Application filed March 14, 1927. Serial No. 175,272.

This invention relate-s to paint mixers, designed for use'by painters and the like, for stirring and breaking-up white lead and other viscous paints, and mixing them with -oil and other thinning agents ready for spreading over the work.

The objectof the invention is to provide a motor driven mixer, which is easily portable and may be propelledmanually. A further object is to provide a shallow cup shaped cylindrical body to which an operating shaft or rod may be attached. A further object is to provide a plurality of radial slots or openings in the bottom of the body through which the lead and other ingredients of the mixture may pass when the body is moved vertically in a keg or pail, the said slots preferably being relatively narrow so as to insure the thorough breakingup of the relatively thick pasty lead. A further object is to provide radial vanes or ribs, which project above the plane of the bottom of the body and stir, as well as displace the ingredients radially as the body is being whirled or rotated. 'And a further object is to provide means for enabling the mass of lead and oil to swirl and become thoroughly agitated and broken up, without pronounced centrifugal movement, or danger of the mixture rising and overflowing the pail.

I attain these objects by the means set forth in the detailed description which follows, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a paint pail, to which my improved mixer is applied. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the mixer, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the mixer. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 55 of Fig. 2. And Fig. 6 is a similar section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

- In the drawing, 2 represents a pail or like container suitable for mixing white lead, or other pigment-s, as 2, that require breakingup and thinning for conditioning themv for use.

3 represents my paint mixer, consisting of a disc-shaped body having an upturned peripheral flange 3, which in practice is usually from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch in height. The center of the disc 3 is provided with a boss 3, which is bored and threaded to receive the lower end of an operating rod or stem, as 4, by which the disc is supported and handled. At the top end of the rod 4 is mounted a small electric motor 5, by which the disc 3 is rotated at high speed, the motor being equipped with a handle 5 for manually controlling the device. The disc 3 is provided with radial slots 3", which are preferably formed by first slitting the bottom and then shearing and drawing the metal at each side and end 05 of the slits by means of suitable dies, for. providing one tall and one short rib or vane, as 33 after which the shorter vane 3* is preferablyfiattened, as shown at 3 in Fig; 6. This provides a number of vanes 3, that border the corresponding sides of the slots, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4; The object of this peculiar construction is to provide vanes 3 of suitable height, and at the same time restrict the slots 3 to. the most suitable breadth to perform the desired mixing work. The slots 3 may be of any suitable length, and the vanes 3 of any suitable height, but I have found that the best results are attained when the slots and vanes are constructed substantially as herein shown. In practice, the painter opens a keg of white lead as 2, for example, the lead as a rule being relatively thick and stiff and inclined to be lumpy, and it is always necessary for the painter to first remove a quantityof lead and then stir and agitate the viscous mass usually by the use of a wooden paddle or stick, for long intervals in order to thoroughly break up the mass 90 and render it capable of being spread smoothly and-evenly by brush, or by means of the well-known spraying machines. Ordinarily, oil or some other thinning agent is incorporated with the lead and the stirring continued until the mass becomes properly conditioned. In the present case, the stirring and agitating is accomplished by means of the shallow cup-shaped disc 3, the

latter being rotated at high speed by the motor 5. To begin the mixing work, the operator grasps the handle 5' of the motor, turns on the current, and then plunges the disc 3 into the mass of unmixed paint. Dur

ing the mixingoperation, the operator raises and lowers the disc 3, and also maneuvers the said part from side to side in the ail, until the whole mass is suitably mixed. When the disc 3 is submerged, ortions of the lead and oil pass upwardly t rough the slots 3", and are instantly stirred and agitated by the rapidly revolving vanes 3. The

vanes 3 act like the blades of an ordinary fan and tend to displace the aint laterally or centrifugally. This centri ugal action, if

allowed to continue without restriction, it has been found, tends to cause the paint to I rise and'creep up the walls of a pail, and

a I 7 provide the upturned flange 3.

flange 1% preferably considerably higher than.

unless the agltation is stopped at frequent intervals,,the pain overflows the top of the pail. To overcome this tendency of the mixture to creep towards the mouth of the pail, This the vanes and tends to stop the lateral displacement of the paint and causes the massto be thrown back into the path of the vanes where it is reagitated before it finally escapes from the disc. 7 By theuse of my improvedmixer, I am able to condition 100 the composition pounds of lead in a few minutes time, whereas it usually requires many hours of-vigorous and stead 1 means of .the ol style hand operated paddle or stirring stick to do the said work, and reduced by this improved method is more ely. and evenly broken up and mixed than is possible to accomplish by the older and cruder means in common use.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim, ise e 1. A mixingdevicecomprising a plane disc having a plurality of radial slots through which the ingredients of a mixture may pass, radial vanes forming one side of stirring and agitating, by-

said slot and risin above the disc, the pe ripheral portion 0 said disc com rising a cylindrical flange disposed at rig t angles to the plane oi the disc'adapted to prevent centrifugal movement of the mixture beyond the disc, and means for rotating said disc.

2. In a portable mixer, a shallow cupshaped body comprising a disc and a cylindrical flange, means for rotating said disc, said disc having a plurality of radial open: ings for the passage of the ingredients'to be mixed when the disc is raised and lowered, and a plurality of vanes arran ed ra-.

above the tops of said vanes sufliclently to prevent the vanes from throwing the mixture laterally for driving said disc.

of, aflix' my signa- LORENKZO. 0.1WAIT.

In testimony where ture.

beyond saidflange; ,and means I 

